Cisco ChengHP Compaq nx6125The HP Compaq nx6125 is ideal for those who don't want to drop a bundle on the IBM ThinkPad T43 or HP Compaq nc6230. It's a quality notebook with good performance, features, and security.

The HP Compaq nx6125 is ideal for those who don't want to drop a bundle on the IBM ThinkPad T43 or HP Compaq nc6230. It's a quality notebook with good performance, features, and security.

Cost-conscious consumers and small business owners will find the HP Compaq nx6125 laptop ($1,249 as tested) very appealing not only for its price, but for its solid performance and ample features. At 6.1 pounds, it's not too heavy to carry around, and with its 15-inch screen, sizable hard drive, and dual-format optical drive, it's quite capable of doing double duty as a desktop computer.

The nx6125 looks and feels much like its more expensive sibling, the HP Compaq nc6230 ($2,299), but there are some subtle design differences. Instead of dual pointing devices, the nx6125 comes with a touchpad only. Also, the palm rests are laminated with a scratch-resistant layer. And even though the surrounding material is not magnesium alloy, the combination of ABS plastic and carbon fiber makes the nx6125 a very durable machine.

Given the price, the features are impressive for a business notebook. It comes with three USB ports, one more than the IBM ThinkPad T43 ($2,199). Multimedia connections include a FireWire port and a 6-in-1 card reader. It also comes with a 60GB hard drive and a DVD±RW burner for tasks such as file backup. It even has Bluetooth.

HP also integrates a fingerprint reader--a first for HP notebooks--that works in tandem with the company's Protect Tools software bundle (preinstalled). The system, however, does not have a built-in Trusted Platform Module (TPM) like the nc6230, for an extra level of security. The nx6125 uses HP's common docking solution, which the company deploys across its business line.

HP includes the AMD Turion processor, instead of the Intel Celeron, successfully keeping the price down and performance up. HP will continue to use the budget Intel Celerons in its nx line. The nx6125 with the Turion ML-37 (rated at 2.0 GHz) performed very well on our SYSmark 2004 Internet Content Creation (ICC) tests, scoring 150. It still doesn't measure up to the ThinkPad T43 with its Pentium M 750, which brought in higher scores on both ICC and Office Productivity tests. The 53-Wh battery lasted 3 hours 28 minutes on our BatteryMark tests, which is good.

The nx6125 uses an integrated graphics solutionthe ATI Mobility Radeon Express 200Mwhich eats up 128MB of system memory, since it has no dedicated memory of its own. Locking up a quarter of the system's resources in graphic memory can slow down the system, especially if you're using a CPU-intensive application like Photoshop.

The HP Compaq nx6125 is ideal for those who don't want to drop a bundle on the IBM ThinkPad T43 or the HP Compaq nc6230, but still want a quality notebook with good performance, features, and security.

HP Compaq nx6125

HP Compaq nx6125

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